Missouri Municipal Red Light Camera programs are seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, but it might be from a freight train

**Updated: September 13th, 2011: An Amended Complaint, which can be found below, was filed against the City of Arnold, Missouri with regard to their use of Red Light Cameras was filed with the Jefferson County Circuit Court on 09/12/2011. Among the allegations in the new complaint are that the City conspired with ATS to draft an ordinance and RFP which would allow American Traffic Solutions to be a Sole Source Provider, assuring that the contract bid would go to them. Additional Class Action Counts are:

Count VI- Unjust Enrichment Against Defendant ATS

Count VII- Fraud Against Defendant City of Arnold and ATS 

Original Post Dated August 23rd, 2011-On Friday, August 19th, the City of Arnold was served with a 35 page Class Action Petition over the City of Arnold’s use of Red Light Camera systems over what is called their willful collusion with red light camera vendor American Traffic Solutions, also named as a defendant, to knowingly violate Missouri State Statutes. The petition alleges that both the City of Arnold and American Traffic Solutions (http://www.atsol.com) conspired to violate Missouri Law in their use and implementation of Red Light Camera systems. This is most notably highlighted in the fact that American Traffic Solutions received a memo from their own legal counsel prior to executing a contract with the City of Arnold, which advised them that their proposed actions would likely violate Missouri State Law as written.

The memo can be found here:
Stinson Morrison Hecker admits Red Light Cameras in Missouri contravene State Statute

The 5 count petition can summarized as follows:

Count I- Declaratory Judgement

Count II- Unjust Enrichment Against the City of Arnold

Count III- Violation of Article 1 Section 19 of the Missouri Constitution against the City of Arnold

Count IV- Violation of Article 1 Section 10 of the Missouri Constitution against the City of Arnold

Count V- Civil Conspiracy between Defendant City of Arnold and Defendant American Traffic Solutions

Added- 09-12-2011

Count VI- Unjust Enrichment Against Defendant ATS

Count VII- Fraud Against Defendant City of Arnold and ATS 

The entire petition can be read here:
Red Light Camera Suit-City of Arnold, Missouri and American Traffic Solutions

This lawsuit is one of a handful of other state municipalities which engage in use of red light cameras filed by the Simon Law Firm (http://www.SimonLawPC.com) fresh off a ruling by 22nd Circuit Judge Mark Neill (St. Louis City) that

“The use of an automated traffic control system to police traffic offenses is a drastic departure from the traditional police powers granted to municipalities; and seen here, it raises a whole host of legal and constitutional issues. A municipality may only exercise its police powers under authority granted to it by the state…Because the red-light camera ordinance does not enact ‘rules of the road’ or ‘traffic regulations,’ the Court finds, in absence of other enabling legislation by the State of Missouri, that the City of St. Louis did not have authority to enact such and Ordinance. Therefore, ordinance #66868 is void.”

Similar suits have also recently been filed against Creve Coeur, Ellisville, Hazelwood, Florissant, Columbia, Kansas City, as well as the suit filed in 2009 against the City of St. Louis.

More information on the Missouri Red Light Camera Scam can be found at WrongOnRed as well as the WrongOnRed Facebook Page.